Hudson Valley Renegades pitcher Paul Campbell was already familiar with his new manager when he arrived in Fishkill for the 2018 season this week.

“I’ve known him for a couple of months now,” the 22-year-old said. “He’s a pretty chill guy.”

Historically, “pretty chill,” is not an adjective associated with baseball managers. A manager is a stoic figure in the dugout; stern, composed and, often, old.

New Renegades skipper Blake Butera, however, is just three years older than Campbell. As Dutchess County’s minor league baseball team begins its season Friday, it does so with the youngest manager in all of professional baseball.

Just three years ago, Butera was drafted as a player and began his professional career. Two years ago, Butera began his second season as a player — as a member of the Renegades.

While his age and relative inexperience may present challenges during the season, his own recent experience as a minor league baseball player is why the Renegades organization and players expect big things this summer.

“The fact that he’s only a couple years removed from playing, he’s going to be able to relate to the players,” Renegades General Manager Eben Yager said. “To be two years removed from playing is unheard of, but we’re very excited about it.”

The Renegades begin the season at 7:05 p.m. Friday on the road against the Aberdeen IronBirds in Maryland. They play their first home game at 7:05 p.m. June 21 at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill.

The team is a short-season Class A minor league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays major league organization. The team plays from late June to early September each year.

The roster is composed of young players in the Rays’ organization in the opening years of their careers, each hoping to work their way up through the minor league ranks. Some arrived in Fishkill after just being selected in last week's Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

Butera was in their position in 2015. As the Rays’ 35th-round pick, the Metairie, Louisiana, native was sent to the Rays’ Rookie League team in Princeton, West Virginia. The following year, the shortstop was promoted to the Renegades, but after struggling through four games he was sent back to Princeton.

The Rays released him from his contract in March 2017, but he took a job coaching in the organization. He spent last season as the Renegades’ first base coach under manager Craig Albernaz. When Albernaz was promoted to coaching the Rays’ team in Bowling Green, Kentucky after last season, Butera was picked to fill his role.

“It shows respect from the organization, that they’ve put this much trust into me,” Butera said. “There’s big shoes to fill, now that Craig left. I text with him all the time and joke with him all the time that, ‘I’ve got to match you!’ We know it’s hard to repeat as champions and I told these guys our goal is to help them become better players, help them play as a team.”

The value of youth

The oldest player on the Renegades’ roster is 24-year-old catcher David Parrett. The youngest is Easton McGee, a 20-year-old pitcher.

First baseman Jacson McGowan, who will turn 21 on Monday, said it’ll be easier to relate to Butera, given his age.

“He just got out of pro ball not too long ago and being in the shoes I’m in — he’s been in those shoes before,” McGowan said. “If I have any questions, it’ll be easy. I feel like it’s a lot easier to play for someone who is around your age. He can guide you through things, so it’s nice to have that age range so close.”

Buy Photo

Media day with the Hudson Valley Renegades at Dutchess Stadium on June 13, 2018.(Photo: Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal)

Catcher Erik Ostberg met Butera during spring training last year. Right away, he noticed with ease with which the coach communicated with players.

“When somebody is younger, you feel more comfortable with them,” Ostberg, 22, said. “I wouldn’t say you have to be coached by a younger guy as opposed to an older guy, but I think he’s going to be dialed in, we’re all going to be dialed in.”

Butera said he understands the difficulties his players will face, and said he told his players the door to his office will always be open.

“Baseball is a tough sport, the guys get it,” the manager said. “We all go through slumps. So just understanding and seeing when guys are having tough times, being able to come talk to me and help them through those tough times is a big part of what I’m going to be able to do.”

Younger managers en vogue

While Butera may be the youngest manager in professional baseball, he isn’t the youngest ever, and he’s not alone.

At 20 years old, John M. Ward was a player-manager for the Providence Grays of the National League — for 31 games in 1880. He remains the youngest manager at the Major League level ever, according to MLB Historian John Thorn. Given minor league teams have sometimes attempted publicity gimmicks to boost ticket sales, Thorn said he could not identify the youngest to ever manage in the minors.

As the concept of the player-manager became less common early in the 20th century, the typical age for managers increased. But, the role is now trending younger at every level of the game.

The youngest professional baseball manager last season was Justin Jirschele, now 27, of the Kannapolis Intimidators, a Class A team in the Chicago White Sox organization.

Of the 14 teams that play in the New York-Penn League, Butera is one of seven managers who are under the age of 40 this season.

And, of Major League Baseball’s 30 managers, 10 are under the age of 50. Coincidentally, the youngest current manager at the in the Majors is 40-year-old Kevin Cash, the Rays’ manager.

“It definitely seems like there is a youth movement in baseball the last couple years with managers,” Yager said. “I guess we’ll see how the trend goes.”

Last year, at 43 years old, A.J. Hinch managed the Houston Astros to a World Series championship. The accomplishment came eight years after Hinch received his first Major League managerial job with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, the World Series is nothing Butera is thinking about right now. Although he said he dreams of making the Majors as a manager, his focus is to enhance the Renegades' talent and prepare them to achieve their own dreams.

“My goal, personally, is to help these guys become better players and better individuals both on and off the field, and move up through the organization and ultimately help our big league team win the future,” Butera said. “I’m not looking past what I have in front of me this year, because my job is to help these players become better individuals.”